Junk Yard Dogs

Does it have to be this way?
cries the inner voice
captured
starved
beaten
trained to hate
mostly self

Bark loud
bare your teeth
growl some fear
bellows the master
gripping the chain
choking and whipping
burrowing his will deep into soft matter
once of connected neural sparks
perpetual holiday glow
now lit by dimming light
the moonlight glint of razor wire captivity
walling in all that's left

How calm once
this miraculous sentience
this simple love
born of gentle nuzzling caress
a mother's honor to care
given with innate affection
nurtured
attended
guided
until...

Somewhere along maturation's path
fear mongers lobbied
peacnik slurs became the battle cry
as violence taught as norm
seeded fear into possession of arms
the price one pays
to protect oneself
says the master

Others were cited as takers and manipulators
paranoia began its insidious creep
the blood stream's contamination grew
pollution worked its eroding effect
‘til synaptic connections frayed

Tenuous resolve succumbed
lights dimmed
sparks died
darkness became the light

Does it have to be this way?

The junk yard dog in all of us
longs for the warmth of what once was
even as collars cinch tighter
chains jerk harder
shouts to obey become louder

Might there be no answer?

Might we be too far gone?

Might wars of mind
finally capitulate
drift
disintegrate
become but dinner scraps
to be fed to the next generation
perpetuating the endless cycle

Junk yard dogs
made
not born